Particulate contamination can be problematic in many industries. For example, large particulate contamination in a liquid medicine can clog the needle. A clean room for a manufacturing process (e.g. semiconductor manufacturing) may require very pure air because particles can cause defects in the manufactured product. Abrasive particles in lubricating oil can cause rapid wear of moving parts.
Detection and analysis of the contamination can be a first step in resolving the contamination problem. It can be helpful to know the quantity of particulates. For example, knowledge that the particle count in a clean room has recently increased can alert engineers to find and stop the source. It can be helpful to know particle size and shape because such knowledge may help the manufacturing engineer to determine the source of the contamination. Also, if the contaminant is in lubricating oil, knowledge of particle size and shape can help the engineer determine the severity of the problem (some particle sizes and/or shapes) may cause more rapid erosion than other particles).
In other situations, the particles may be desirable, but it can be important to know the quantity, size, and/or shape of the particles.
Information relevant to attempts to address these problems can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 8,345,239 and U.S. Patent Publication Number 2013/0004987.